The Separation of nonmetallic particles by buoyancy in tundishes is investigated theoretically. It is shown, that the best possible separation is achieved it the projection of the region through which flow from the inlet to the outlet mainly occurs, covers as large a part of the surface as possible. In contrast, the volume of this region, its distance from the surface and the mean retention time do not influence separation directly. Numerical calculations of the flow fields and particle separation in two different tundish geometries with and without a baffle predict no significant differences in the capability of separating nonmetallic particles. This surprising result may be explained by the principle stated above. In contrast to these findings, observations made during production provide indirect evidence that the insertion of a baffle reduces the concentration of Al2O3 at the outlet of the tundish significantly. This would mean that besides buoyancy, another process contributes significantly to the separation of nonmetallics. Such a process is not identified in this paper, but it is shown that turbulent diffusion and inertial impaction are not likely candidates.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.